What was interesting though was the number city councilors both in and out of the Responsible gang that claimed they were opposing the settlement on the basis of some kind grassroots outpouring of constituents. Really? Everyone I know was just so eager for the whole damned affair to end that I haven’t heard anyone say “oh let’s reject this deal and force the unions back out so the garbage can fester a bit longer and the pools can stay closed a bit longer and another session of summer camp can be ruined.”

In other words this groundswell of public opposition to the deal between the city and its unions strikes me as astroturf – fake grassroots. There is a small minority in this city that pathologically hate the fact that Toronto is a centre-left type of place. They are joined by the “fuck Toronto” crowd of right-wingers outside of this city that likewise think the place is some kind of den of socialism. I imagine that this groups have been doing this – as most Torontonians are not looking to see just how much garbage their city parks can hold. I’d like to see how many of these “grassroots” emails came from IP addresses outside the city.

I will move if Rob Ford is ever elected mayor. The man can’t even coach high school football – literally I know some stories of his attempts at coaching. I suspect that the anti-Miller crowd will coalesce around George Smitherman.